Return of the Hideous New Girl
by zimbelstern
Summary: After months of being stuck in her escape pod, Tak has crashed back on Earth. Undoubtedly, she wants revenge, but will her feelings change? ZATR
1. Violent Return

Disclaimer: Yep, I guess I'll need one of these, even though it's obvious none of this belongs to me. All Invader Zim stuffs belong to Jhonen Vasquez! Duh. And this disclaimer thing applies to all future chapters!

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Chapter One: Violent Return 

It was a cold night on Earth, in mid-November. The light-polluted sky had already darkened, the only light coming from streetlights, the headlights of cars, and other bright lights of the city. Very few people were outside their homes at this time of night, and so they did not notice the gleam of the falling Irken escape pod as it streaked toward the ground from Earth's atmosphere, flames surrounding the hot metal with its descent. Minutes later, the pod finally landed amidst a small cluster of trees near the city park.

A small Irken staggered out of the burnt pod soon after its landing, smoke flowing from the opening of the pod behind her. She swayed dizzily and grabbed onto a nearby tree for support, and then looked around her with an impatient frown. "MIMI!" At her call, a SIR unit darted to the Irken's side, tilting up her head to watch her mistress attentively with red eyes that glowed brightly in the darkness. "Run a search for my spittle runner, and show me its location." MIMI nodded obediently. Seconds later, a screen popped out of her head displaying a glowing map of the city, crisscrossed with streets and complete with multitudes of buildings. The image on the screen zoomed in to a blinking red dot over one of the smaller buildings in a nearby neighborhood. Tak's eyes narrowed as she realized who lived in that building. "So, Dib took it. I should have known." Her holographic human disguise flickered around her, and she seemed to be a normal human girl, no different in appearance than the other children of the planet. In a flash of blue light, MIMI activated her disguise as well, becoming a small, black cat.

Tak looked down at her disguised SIR unit. "We'll recover the ship later, MIMI. Now, we're going straight to Zim's excuse for a base. I want to make him suffer for what he has done to me…" Scowling, Tak motioned for MIMI to follow her, and then stalked silently out of the trees.

GIR burst through the door of Zim's house, happily humming an annoying tune he had heard on the television. He was holding a tottering stack of recipe books, most likely taken from someone without their knowledge. "I'm makin' us some snacks, master!" he squealed with delight. GIR ran to the kitchen, where he shoved the books roughly onto the edge of the counter before jumping out of his dog disguise.

Deep in his underground labs, Zim was finishing a small device on which he was working. He faintly heard GIR's shouts in the house level above him, but chose to ignore the robot. Flinging aside the tool he had been using, which was still emitting blue sparks, Zim lifted the completed device over his head triumphantly. "There! It's fixed! If I use this against the Dib-stink, he will be in my way no longer! Minimoose, feast your eyes on the amazing work of ZIM!"

Minimoose squeaked his approval, floating in the air next to Zim and nodding appreciatively at the thin, metal device in Zim's hands.

Zim suddenly sighed irritably, setting it back down in front of him. "I'd better go see what GIR is doing. I think I heard him entering the base just now." Zim stepped into one of his elevators, ascending to the house level through the floor of his kitchen and leaving Minimoose to watch over his repaired weapon.

"HI!" GIR beamed up at Zim as the Irken appeared in the kitchen. The SIR unit was surrounded with pages ripped from the recipe books, all of which were scattered around him in a disorganized mess.

Zim opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud banging outside the front door. He glared in the direction of the door, and then looked down at GIR again with an annoyed expression, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I thought I told you to cancel that pizza party you were having! I am _not_ going to allow the whole neighborhood in my base!"

"But I did!"

"Answer the door, GIR. And if it's one of the filthy neighbors, send them away."

"Okey dokey! I gonna let 'em all stay on the couch! COUCH!" GIR pulled on his dog disguise and ran to the door. He had barely opened it a crack before he was thrown into the adjacent wall, smashing against it and slowly falling to the floor.

"GIR? What's going on?" Zim hastily popped in his lenses and pulled his wig over his antennae, and then entered the room to see Tak and MIMI standing in the doorway of his base. MIMI was glaring threateningly at GIR, her claw still outstretched in front of her, ready to lunge at the other SIR unit if Tak asked.

Zim took a step back, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Wha…? Tak…!" He stared dumbly at the female Irken, seeming to be unable to comprehend that she was in his base.

"Did you really think you got rid of me for good?" Tak asked, smirking at Zim as her disguise disappeared, revealing her Irken appearance. "I told you I'd come back, didn't I?"

Zim blinked slowly at Tak, bewildered. "But… you're…"

Tak narrowed her eyes impatiently. "What, Zim?"

"I… I threw you into space!" Zim shouted. He moved closer to Tak and pointed at her dramatically.

"Yes. And I landed back here again. Just my luck that it happened to be the same planet I was thrown away from in the first place! Do you know how long it took me to fix MIMI after what you and your deranged robot did? It was all your fault, Zim!" Tak clenched her fists, growing increasingly impatient as Zim only stared blankly at her. "I don't have time for this!" she shouted, hastily withdrawing her spider legs from her pak. "Are you just going to stand there gawking at me all night, Zim? I'm going to make sure your pain is unbearable!"

As she said this, Tak lunged at Zim, her spider legs lashing violently around her. Zim yelled, managing to jump out of the way of two of Tak's spider legs at the last second, and then darted to the toilet entrance to his underground base and flushed himself down, jumping into the elevator. Tak followed right behind him without hesitation, leaving MIMI standing menacingly over GIR. From the elevator, the two SIR units could hear loud noises as the two Irkens fought and cries of pain, mostly from Zim.

GIR waved goofily at MIMI, sticking his tongue out of his mouth to one side. "Hi, MIMI! I missed youuuu!"

Zim flung himself out of his elevator as he came to the part of his base that he had just left earlier. More out of defense than anything else, he had withdrawn his own spider legs from his pak. Zim raced away from Tak as she jumped out of the elevator, landing gracefully on her feet. He panicked, hearing that she was still not far behind him. Zim found himself by the table where he had been minutes before the arrival of Tak, and snatched up the metal box that he had been fixing. Minimoose squeaked at him questioningly, still hovering in the air next to him.

"Don't make me use this, Tak!" Zim yelled as he spun to face her, brandishing it over his head. Zim flinched as Tak knocked the thin box out of his hand with the end of a spider leg. Minimoose zoomed away from the two Irkens in terror.

"Hey!" he yelled indignantly. "I was going to use that on the Dib!" He recoiled, seeing Tak charging toward him, her spider legs stretching menacingly from her pak. In her hand, she held a dark purple laser gun, which had been stored in her pak. Thinking quickly, Zim pulled his own laser gun from his pak, pointing it at her.

"Tak! Wait a minute! Can't we talk about this?" he asked anxiously.

Tak ignored Zim's question. "Do you know how long I was in that pod because of you, Zim?" she shrieked, her accent thick with her rage. "I'm not going to forgive you for that!"

Two of her spider legs shot out at Zim at once, nearly impaling him. Zim used his own pak's mechanical legs to propel himself into the air out of her reach. With an angry cry, Tak shot wildly at him with her gun, agilely throwing herself to the side as he flipped high over her head. Zim returned the fire and kicked off from a wall of the lab, gritting his teeth as he tried to keep the distance between them wide. The two Irkens continued to dodge each other's attacks, severely wrecking Zim's base as they went.

Dib strolled down the sidewalk, passing Zim's house. He did a double take, seeing that Zim's door was wide open. Overcome by curiosity, Dib walked the short distance to the door, eyeing the lawn gnomes warily before stepping into the strange, conspicuous house.

"…and we's gonna make chocolate-covered popcorn!" GIR declared from the kitchen. "I like it!" With this exclamation, GIR giggled insanely.

Dib cautiously peered around the corner to see GIR perched on a stool, ecstatically stirring a bowl full of popcorn covered in a dark brown goop, which was overflowing at the sides of the large bowl. MIMI stood next to him grumpily, wearing an overly large apron with the words "Kiss the cook!" printed in neon pink across the front, complete with red ribbons and heart designs. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, other than there. Catching sight of Dib, GIR grinned up at him with excitement.

"Hello, master's big-headed friend! Did you's want some chocolatey popcorn, too?" He held the bowl up to Dib's face, waving it in the air in front of him. "It's gooood…" the SIR unit added with a somewhat creepy grin.

"Uh… No thanks…" Dib pushed the bowl away and smiled nervously at the robot. He glanced over at MIMI and frowned. "Is… Tak here again…?" he asked, thinking immediately of Tak's modified spittle runner in his garage. If she had come back to Earth somehow, she would undoubtedly want it. _"But… I worked so hard on fixing it…!"_ Dib thought to himself with a worried frown.

GIR tilted his head and watched Dib with wide eyes, as though he was unable to comprehend Dib's question.

"Is Tak around here, somewhere with Zim?" Dib tried again.

"They is playin' right now! Down there!" GIR answered cheerfully, pointing down at the floor to indicate where the two Irkens were.

Dib frowned. Having witnessed Zim and Tak's hatred for each other only a few months earlier, he was sure that they were more likely to be pummeling each other rather than 'playing.' "Well… I might as well look around Zim's base now that I know he's busy!" Dib exclaimed, beginning to look around the room with great interest. "I wish I hadn't left my camera at home." As Dib said this, there was an explosion from deep inside the base beneath their feet, causing the furniture and appliances around them to rattle loudly. Dib bit his lip nervously. The noises of the fight sounded much closer than they really were. "Uh… On second thought, maybe not." Dib glanced around warily before turning and fleeing from the house, not wanting to be in the middle of a battle between two angry aliens.

"GOODBYE!" GIR screamed after him from the doorway, holding MIMI's hand tightly in his own. Surprisingly, she didn't move away from the defective SIR unit or make any move to rip his head from his body.

Upon reaching the sidewalk, Dib looked back at Zim's base over his shoulder, wondering just how intense the enmity between Zim and Tak had become. He knew Tak would have been extremely angry after what Zim had done to her, but if things inside Zim's base were exploding, she must be even more livid than the last time.

As Dib was contemplating this, Zim was just recovering from the same explosion that had startled Dib. "Look what you did!" Zim shouted at Tak through the cloud of dust floating in the air, resulting from the explosion of some of his Irken equipment. With several missed shots, Tak had managed to blow up everything in an entire half of the room. Tak moved silently through the settling dust with her spider legs, her eyes narrowed murderously at Zim. "Zim…"

Zim squeaked with surprise as he was slammed into the wall by two of Tak's spider legs. Tak pinned Zim against the wall and advanced closer to him, and Zim suddenly found himself staring directly into her angry amethyst eyes.

"I hate you, Zim! You've ruined my life, and I'm going to make you pay for it! I _hate you_!"

Zim watched Tak, his own magenta eyes round, as she turned away and fiercely tugged her spider legs out of the wall from either side of him. She swiftly strode to the nearest exit of the lab, not looking back at him. "I'm not finished with you, Zim. Don't think I'm giving up yet," she said darkly before she stepped into the elevator, promptly ascending back up to the house level.

Zim remained leaning against the wall, not moving from where Tak had left him. Puzzled, he stared in the direction of where she had gone. He knew Tak hated him, but it had never bothered him before now. Zim continued to stare after her for a long time, a confused expression on his face.


	2. SIR Romance

Chapter Two: SIR Romance

"Master? Master? Master? Master?"

Zim blinked slowly and glanced down, noticing GIR standing at his feet. The tiny SIR was holding a bowl so large that he could hardly carry it. "Yes GIR, what do you want?" Zim asked, annoyed by GIR's interruption of his thoughts.

"You been standin' here all alone for a looong time! Don't you want some o' this?" GIR placed the bowl in Zim's hands before sitting on the floor, stretching his arms out in front of him to touch his feet. "MIMI made it with me!"

"Hm… it's all gooey… This is some sort of human snack? How did- Wait! Of course I don't want this!" Zim shoved the bowl back at GIR and turned his back on him. He narrowed his eyes, taking in the destruction of his base. "Computer, fix this mess," he ordered, trudging toward an elevator to return to the house level.

"Master! Master, wait! When is MIMI comin' back? We were gonna make other stuff things, too! Like cheese! And… and piggies! THE PIGGIES!"

Zim squinted an eye disbelievingly and turned to see GIR watching him with round eyes, looking extremely attentive for once. He was still tightly clutching the large bowl in his arms. "MIMI? You mean Tak's SIR unit? Hopefully not at all, GIR."

"Please, Master? Can MIMI pleeeease come back?" GIR gazed at Zim imploringly, his large blue eyes glowing brightly in the room's dim light.

Zim glared impatiently at his SIR unit. "I don't have time for this, GIR! I already said no!" He walked into the elevator, antennae lowered against the back of his head with irritation. "Computer! I thought I told you to repair the damage to my base!"

GIR stared after Zim until he was out of sight. His antenna drooped, and he sadly lowered his eyes to the floor in front of him. He sat in the large room by himself, surrounded by broken parts and debris from Zim and Tak's destructive fight.

"MIMI, you've set everything to how it was before, haven't you?" Tak looked over her shoulder impatiently at her SIR unit expectantly. "MIMI…?"

MIMI quickly looked up to her mistress, trying to look as though she had been listening to her the whole time.

"MIMI, I don't understand why you've been so slow to respond lately." Tak shook her head, crossing her arms irritably over her chest. "And you usually listen to me so well! Could this have something to do with our visit to Zim's base? You were fine before then." The computer behind her began flashing and beeping, and Tak spun back around to face it. "What? I never let the weenie man out of the containment jar! What is wrong with this?"

She began furiously pressing buttons and yanking on levers, and MIMI took advantage of the distraction to leave the room. She exited the main section of Tak's base and wandered aimlessly into the Deelishus Weenie stand. The employees had all left by this time of night, leaving the weenie stand completely empty except for Tak and herself. Hearing a sharp tapping sound behind her, MIMI turned to see a grinning GIR motioning frantically to her from outside the window, seated in Zim's voot cruiser. MIMI waved back at him shyly, and then removed the glass from the window easily with her claw. She easily jumped into the voot beside GIR.

"Hi, MIMI! We gonna go to the park! Master takes me there sometimes. I eat squirrels!" GIR announced, pulling the hood of his green dog disguise over his head. MIMI gave an enthusiastic nod and activated her cat disguise as well, and GIR flew the voot at full speed toward the city park.

A few hours after GIR had left, Zim searched restlessly through his base, realizing that he had not seen the SIR unit since he left him in the lower part of his base earlier that day. "GIR? GIR…? I told him not to leave the base tonight!" Zim gave a frustrated sigh. "Knowing GIR, he probably has anyway, to buy his silly tacos or something… Ah, Minimoose! Have you seen GIR?"

Minimoose shook his head and squeaked apologetically.

"I guess we'll just have to do without him. Come, Minimoose! We must plan a way to conquer Earth. A plan so amazingly clever, that not even Tak will interfere with it!"

At about the same time as Zim, Tak had realized her own SIR unit was gone. She moved through the many rooms of her base, doing all of the tasks she normally would have appointed to MIMI. "I had thought she had perfect behavior!" Tak grumbled to herself as she worked. "Once I have time, I'll try to repair her. She's probably malfunctioning in some way."

Tak pressed a large button by the screen in front of her, and after a short wait the faces of the Tallests appeared on it. "Greetings, my Tallests! I apologize for my previous failure. I am calling you to ask for a second change to prove to you that I am worthy to be an invader!"

Purple stared blankly at Tak. He frowned, leaning towards Red. "Um… who is that?" he asked his co-Tallest in a loud whisper.

Red blinked slowly. "I think that's… uh…." He perked up his antennae, finally remembering her. "Oh, yes! Tak!"

"You mean the one who was going to give us that planet Zim is on filled with snacks?"

"That's right!"

Purple grinned broadly, turning back to Tak. "Um… sure! Of course we'll give you a second chance! You can try to conquer Earth again, even though it doesn't seem to be a very useful planet…"

"And if you just happen to destroy Zim while you're at it, that would be even better!" Red added enthusiastically.

"Thank you, my Tallests! I am so grateful!" Tak smiled at them, and the screen went blank as the transmission ended.

"Hey… do you really think she'll get rid of Zim? Zim ruined everything she planned last time, right?"

Red shrugged indifferently at Purple's question. "We'll see what happens." He looked to the side, catching sight of a short Irken standing near them. "Hey! Hey, drone! Bring me another soda! Didn't you notice this one was empty?" Red tossed his empty soda can at the drone, hitting him between the eyes.

Meanwhile at the park, GIR was contentedly pushing MIMI on a swing and singing almost every song to her that he could remember hearing on the television that day.

Hours later, the first rays of sunlight began to shine on Earth. The students filed into Ms. Bitters' class as usual, taking their assigned seats. Dib darted in a minute before the class started, giving a relieved sigh when he saw that he was on time. He took two steps in the direction of his desk only to trip over Zim's foot, and found himself flat on his face. Dib pushed himself up and glared back at Zim, who was whistling innocently. Dib stood and smoothed out his dark trench coat.

"You look pleased with yourself," Dib remarked coldly. "Was that your brilliant plan for today? Tripping me?"

"Of course not, Dib-worm," Zim answered in a condescending tone. "Just watch out for any _pigeons_ you might happen to pass today!"

"What? Pigeons…? Whatever, Zim! And I know that Tak was in your base yesterday!"

"Dib, you aren't in your seat. You're late." Ms. Bitters suddenly hovered over Dib menacingly, seeming to have appeared from nowhere.

"But I've been right here the whole time!" Dib exclaimed indignantly, turning to face his teacher.

"Just sit down before you bother me any more, Dib!"

Dib shot Zim one last angry glare, and grumpily trudged the rest of the way to his desk. Zim chuckled to himself and leaned back in his own seat.

"Today," Ms. Bitters muttered, drawing a noose on the board, "we will learn several methods of suicide! You may find them useful in the horrible, doomed years ahead of you." The classroom door opened, and Ms. Bitters hissed angrily at the interruption.

"I'm sooo sorry I'm late," Tak said cheerfully, her human disguise as convincing as the last time she had been in the class. "I had to leave for a few months without notice. My father – I'm sure you remember, the head of the Deelishus Weenie Corporation? – well, he had to leave suddenly for a long business trip! And of course, I went with him. But I'm so glad to be back!"

"Nobody cares, Tak. Sit down," Ms. Bitters growled, jabbing a finger at the rows of desks.

Tak smiled and nodded, walking to her old desk, which was occupied by another student. "Get out of my seat," she demanded. "You can sit… somewhere else!" Her eyes flashed with a hypnotic, blue light, and the boy in her seat immediately stood. "Okay, Tak!" He ran from the classroom, and Tak sat in the empty desk, clasping her hands in front of her.

Ms. Bitters continued as though nothing had happened. "As I was saying…"

Zim nervously lowered his eyes to his desk, rolling his pencil back and forth across its surface. Ever since Tak had taken her seat, he could practically feel her furious glare boring into him. Dib had turned in his seat to stare curiously at Tak.

"…and that is why suicide is the answer to your pathetic problems in your meaningless, doomed lives. Go play outside now. I don't want to look at you anymore." The students cheered happily as Ms. Bitters ended the lesson, racing outside to the playground as fast as they could.

"Hello, Dib." Tak greeted Dib halfway through the classroom. "I'll be at your house this afternoon to retrieve my spittle runner. I know that you have it"

"But… Tak! I'm… I mean, I can't-"

"I hope it's still in one piece." With that, Tak followed the rest of the children to the playground, Dib hurrying a short distance behind her.

Zim already stood near the side of the skool, trying to look inconspicuous. Tak approached him silently. "Zim," she said softly, her eyes narrowed, "stay out of my way while I am on this planet, and I _might_ make your death less painful."

Zim jumped, not noticing Tak until she had spoken. He turned to her and managed a careless grin. "Your pathetic threats do not worry me, Tak. I'll stop you as quickly and easily as before, if not sooner!"

Tak scowled, striding in the opposite direction from Zim. When she was several feet away, she peered back at him over her shoulder, frowning. Zim was pretending to ignore her, but Tak could tell that he was still watching her. Tak squinted her eyes, staring at Zim critically. Something about him was definitely different. Suddenly, it occurred to Tak what it was. Zim was taller. During her absence, he had somehow grown. Tak was startled to realize that Zim was at least her height, if not a little taller. Tak averted her eyes from Zim and sniffed disdainfully, walking toward the other end of the playground, her fists clenched at her sides.


	3. Jealousy

Chapter Three: Jealousy

GIR dropped off MIMI at the same window where he had met her the previous night. MIMI gave GIR a fond hug, and the robot puckered his lips in an imitation of couples he had seen on television and gave her a sloppy kiss on the side of her head. "Bye, MIMI! I love youuu!" GIR cried as the voot zoomed through the sky in the direction of Zim's base.

MIMI waved goodbye and walked back to the room where she had left her mistress. Finding this room empty, she sat by the door where Tak would enter when she returned from skool. MIMI waited for several minutes, but Tak still did not arrive. MIMI soon decided that Tak would not be back for many hours still, and left the Deelishus Weenie stand, making her way to Zim's base.

GIR had immediately begun to make cheese bread on his return to Zim's base. The recipe was yet another that he had collected (or stolen) from the countless books that were strewn around the kitchen. Hearing a knock at the door, GIR tossed the tray full of bread onto the counter and ran to open it. "MIMI! You's here again!" he exclaimed delightedly, pulling the other SIR unit through the door and slamming it closed behind her.

As soon as skool was over, Dib ran down the steps of the skool to catch up with Tak, dodging around the other students in his path. "Tak! You said you were going to my house after school, right?"

Tak nodded slowly, glancing at Dib as he moved to her side. "Yes, for my ship. Why?"

"I was thinking… maybe… would you like to go with me to Bloaty's tonight, after you come by my house?"

"Bloaty's?"

"Yeah, it's a pizza place. I know you probably wouldn't want human food, but they might have something there you'd like." Dib grinned at Tak nervously, feeling more awkward when he saw her staring blankly at him.

"Yes, fine. I'll go with you. First I'll need to find where MIMI has gone, though." Tak changed direction and walked down another street. "I'll see you soon, Dib."

Dib stood at the street corner and waved after her as she disappeared from his sight, smiling cheerfully.

"What were you and Tak talking about, _Dib_?" Dib turned to see Zim leaning against the side of a building, watching Dib distrustfully.

"None of your business, _Zim_!" Dib's defiant expression changed to a smirk. "Well… actually, I just asked Tak on a date."

"A date? What is this 'date' you speak of, Dib-worm?"

"You don't know? Wow, Zim! You're even dumber than I thought!" Dib snickered, and then explained, "A date is when two people who really like each other go do something together. Everyone knows _that_, Zim!"

"Tak, a member of the noble Irken race? Feel affection for _you_, a filthy _human_? You are full of lies, Dib-stink! LIIIIES!" Zim pointed accusingly at Dib, and several bystanders stared at the two of them curiously.

"Heh! You're just jealous because you want to go on a date with Tak, too!" Dib rolled his eyes and continued making his way to his home.

"Zim? Jealous? Of course not! Irkens have no need of silly feelings such as _affection_!" Zim spat. He blinked, noticing the stares from the bystanders around them. "I'M NORMAL!" he yelled, and then took off down the street, racing back to his base. Zim eventually slowed to a walk when he came in sight of his green house and approached the door, flinging it open and slamming it hard behind him as he entered. Once inside, Zim removed his wig and contacts. "GIR, come here! We have important things to do!"

"Whaaat?" GIR peeked around the corner from inside the kitchen.

Zim grimaced and frowned at GIR. "GIR, are you creating more of those foul human concoctions?"

"Yep! Want some? We's almost done!" GIR beamed happily.

"We? What do you mean by that…?"

In answer to his question, MIMI appeared in the kitchen doorway, standing close behind GIR.

"Eh? What is that SIR doing here? You, get out of my base!" Zim shouted, waving a fist in the air.

The door banged open behind Zim as he was speaking, and Tak stormed into the room, her dark purple eyes glittering with rage. Her human disguise disappeared as soon as the door shut. "I tracked my SIR unit to your base! What are you trying to do?" Tak stalked toward Zim angrily, causing him to take an involuntary step away from her.

"You think I want her in my base? You can take her and leave! NOW!"

Before either of the Irkens could argue further, GIR jumped up between them and grabbed their antennae in each of his hands, banging their heads together. "I MADE CHEESY BREAD! CHEEEESY BREAD!" he squealed. MIMI stood by the kitchen, watching anxiously and holding a plate piled high with cheese bread in front of her.

"Ouch! GIR!" Zim winced, attempting to pull his sensitive antennae from GIR's tightly clenched hand.

Tak glared at Zim as her eyes filled with tears of pain. "Zim, if you don't get your deranged robot off of me right now…" Before she finished her threat, GIR released their antennae and dropped to the floor again, promptly going back into the kitchen. MIMI set the plate she was holding on the floor and nodded apologetically to Tak.

"MIMI, we're leaving," Tak said through gritted teeth. She spun around and stalked to the door, MIMI trailing reluctantly after her.

Zim jumped into the doorway as soon as Tak and MIMI had cleared it. "Good! And don't come back!" he yelled, closing the door after them. Zim walked back to the middle of the room, crossing his arms. "Minimoose, I'm leaving with GIR for a little while. Watch my base while we're gone!" he ordered. Minimoose squeaked obediently in reply, and floated slowly around the room.

"GIR, get over here!"

GIR ran out of the kitchen. He stopped before Zim and saluted to him, his eyes glowing red. "Yes, my master!"

"We're going to follow Tak and Dib. I expect you to listen well to everything I say! Do you understand, GIR?"

GIR's eyes turned back to their usual cyanic color, and he began to giggle insanely, dropping to the floor on his rear.

Zim stared at the SIR unit. "…GIR, put on your dog disguise! We're going to find out exactly what this 'date' is."

Dib hummed cheerfully to himself, entering his living room and sitting on the couch beside Gaz, who continued playing her game slave 2 without acknowledging him.

"Guess what, Gaz! I'm going on a date with an alien! Weird, huh?"

Gaz cracked open one eye and glanced sideways at Dib with an annoyed expression. "Because no human in her right mind would ever go out with you?" she asked emotionlessly. Gaz shook her head, turning her attention back to her game.

Dib ignored the insult, still smiling blissfully. Hearing a knock at the door, he leaped from the couch and hurried across the room to open it. Tak and MIMI stood outside the door, both in their disguises. "Where is my ship?" Tak asked, as soon as she saw Dib. Dib pointed toward his garage, and MIMI darted in the direction he had indicated.

"Good. MIMI will take care of it. You said you wanted me to go with you to that 'Bloaty's' place?"

"Sure, if you're ready!" Dib stepped out the door and looked back to Gaz. "If Dad asks where I went, tell him I'm going out to eat with a friend, okay?"

"Whatever," Gaz mumbled in reply to her brother, her eyes fixed on her game.

As Dib and Tak walked down the street of Dib's neighborhood, Zim and GIR stayed close behind them, sneaking from shadow to shadow. Fortunately for them, it was already night, and neither Dib nor Tak noticed them.

"GIR, be quiet!" Zim hissed at his SIR unit, who was humming softly.

"I don't wanna," GIR whined, waving his arms on either side of him.

Zim scowled, adjusting his wig more snugly over his antennae. "Okay… If you behave tonight, I'll buy you a taco."

GIR paused for a moment, considering Zim's offer. "Four tacos!"

"I said _a_ taco, GIR! One!"

"FOUR TACOS!"

"GIR…! …Fine."

"Yaaaay!"

Zim motioned for GIR to stop walking, seeing Dib and Tak entering Bloaty's a short distance ahead of them. "Oh… I _hate_ that place…" Zim shivered, remembering the disturbing, singing creatures he had encountered the last time he had been to the restaurant.

"Let's go inside, master!" GIR exclaimed, grabbing Zim's hand and dragging him after Dib and Tak before he could protest. Zim noticed thankfully that the mechanical animals hadn't started singing yet as GIR pulled him through the entrance to Bloaty's. Catching sight of Dib and Tak slipping into a booth near a window, Zim dove into the booth in front of it, pulling GIR behind him and crouching low in the seat. When they had sat for no longer than ten seconds, GIR started to become restless, making faces at the other families eating near them and trying to crawl under the table. Thinking fast, Zim snatched a large pizza from a passing waiter and shoved it in front of GIR. GIR grabbed the pizza and grinned. He munched on it happily, somehow managing to get it all over his dog disguise.

"…so, for all of this time, you've wanted to get revenge on Zim?"

"Yes, yes. If everything had gone right, I would be an invader, on a planet worth invading," Tak answered, sounding bored with the conversation.

"Could you tell me more about how this… 'invading'… works?" Dib asked. Zim heard the booth creak as Dib leaned forward eagerly.

"No," Tak said shortly.

"Wha…? Why not?"

"I'm not stupid, Dib. Did you think I would reveal information about Irk to you just because you invited me to have dinner at this place?"

"I already found out a lot myself," Dib said defensively.

"Good for you. Too bad it won't matter once I conquer this planet for my leaders."

Zim glared, clenching the edge of the table with one of his hands. "That's my job!" he muttered under his breath.

"But, Tak! You don't have to- Oh, the pizza's here!"

Zim heard the sharp clang of dishes set down at their booth. Both Tak and Dib were silent for a few minutes, and then Tak finally stood. "That was very kind of you to invite me to have dinner with you, Dib, but I'll have to be going now. I still have many things I need to do tonight."

"But we haven't been here very long at all!" Dib exclaimed, disappointed.

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I- Zim?" Tak had been walking in the direction of the door, but stopped when she saw Zim, who was still crouched in the booth with GIR.

"Huh? Zim?" Dib's head appeared over the edge of the seat. He frowned when he saw Zim. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Spying on us, apparently," Tak said furiously. "And doing a bad job of it!"

Zim jumped out of the booth next to Tak and straightened to his full height. "Nonsense! Zim was not _spying_!" Zim looked to Dib, grinning at him mockingly. "Are you sure that was a 'date,' Dib?" Zim grinned at the human mockingly. "Tak didn't seem to 'really like you,' did she?"

Tak blinked, looking between Zim and Dib with a confused expression. Dib only laughed nervously at Zim's observation and glanced away.

"What are you talking about?" Tak asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. She shook her head, sighing exasperatedly. "Okay, never mind. I'm leaving."

Zim and Dib stared after Tak with round eyes until she had left Bloaty's, and then Zim held a fist above his head triumphantly. "Ha! Victory for ZIM!"

"You didn't win anything! I bet you just came to bother us because you really _were_ jealous!" Dib said sourly. "Oh, whatever. I'm going home."

Suddenly, the mechanical animals began to sing, much to the delight of the young children in the restaurant. Zim flinched at the noise, his eyes widening with horror when the animals advanced toward him. "Stay back! Get away from me! No! AHHHHhhhhh!" He ran out of the restaurant as fast as his legs could carry him, and GIR giggled delightedly as he followed at his master's heels, thinking it was some sort of game. Dib pointed and laughed, until a grumpy-looking waiter tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're gonna pay for that pizza, right?"

Tak had already returned to her base, and was critically examining her spittle runner, which MIMI had transported from Dib's garage. MIMI stood near her, watching quietly.

"It seems that Dib has done quite a bit with my ship. See? This isn't how it was before." Tak pointed out the various problems to MIMI, indignant that Dib had changed so much without her consent. "Work on this while I'm gone, MIMI. I have something I need to do." MIMI nodded obediently and jumped onto Tak's ship, several large tools popping out of her back panel as she began her careful work on the ship. Tak surveyed MIMI's progress for a moment. She nodded her approval, and then strolled out of the room, leaving the weenie stand.


	4. Rain and Tacos

Chapter Four: Rain and Tacos

Minutes later, Tak made her way hastily down the street of Zim's neighborhood, shadow-like. The only light came from the inside of several houses and a few lonely streetlamps, and the sky was dark with thick clouds. Dry leaves rustled by Tak's boots, caught in a gust of wind.

Hearing a noise ahead of her, Tak swiftly ducked into the shadow of a large tree. GIR soon came into view, skipping obliviously past her in his green dog disguise. When the SIR unit was out of sight, Tak cautiously stepped back to the sidewalk, and walked the rest of the way to Zim's front door. She knocked loudly several times. After waiting about a minute with no answer, she arched an eyebrow impatiently. "And he calls himself an invader…He's probably too terrified to let me into his base."

Tak smirked at this thought, and threw the unlocked door open herself. The room was quiet and empty with the exception of the television, which GIR had forgotten to turn off. The volume was low, but Tak was still able to hear the cacophonous singing of the children on a Bloaty's Pizza Hog commercial. Tak flinched at the sound; if she had seen this commercial before Dib asked her to eat there with him, she definitely would have declined.

Averting her gaze from the television screen, Tak skimmed her eyes over the entire room. Nothing seemed to have alerted Zim of her presence yet. Tak deactivated her disguise, marveling at the lack of security in Zim's base. It was astonishing to her that the humans had not yet discovered him. Tak walked to the next room, the kitchen, and paused beside Zim's garbage can. She reached down to open it, guessing correctly that it was another entrance to his underground base. She lifted herself over the edge of the garbage can and dropped. Tak found herself in an elevator, swiftly descending below the house to one of the many rooms of Zim's base. She cautiously stepped into the room and looked past Zim's Irken computers and equipment, trying to find where Zim could be.

Coming to the doorway of the next room, Tak found that Zim wasn't there, either. Even so, she bent her spider legs so that they points were aimed directly in front of her, ready to shoot lasers from all four of them as soon as she caught sight of Zim.

Tak continued to move silently from room to room. When she had almost given up on finding Zim, she heard his voice. She was startled to hear how forlorn he sounded. Peering around another corner, Tak saw Zim slumped forward in a chair with his back to her, his antennae drooping on either side of his head.

"…but you don't really understand what I mean, do you, Computer?" Zim sighed.

"Nope. Not really," the computer answered disinterestedly.

Zim continued speaking as though the computer had not said anything. "I feel … strange things… when I'm around her. Or away from her, for that matter! Ever since yesterday, when she came back, I realized that I've felt this way the whole time. I think the Dib mentioned these feelings earlier. Weak, _human_ emotions… I shouldn't be having them! I'm _Irken_! And an invader! I am Z-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the computer interrupted, obviously not caring at all about what Zim was saying.

Tak perked her antennae forward curiously, watching the other Irken. She could not help but wonder what Zim meant. But it did not matter. She would rid herself of Zim once and for all, with no more distractions. She would not put it off any longer.

At that moment, Zim slowly twisted his chair away from the screen he was facing. He froze as his eyes met Tak's. For a few seconds, they could only stare at each other, unblinking. Finally, Tak stepped forward and shot her lasers at Zim. He threw himself from the chair just in time, landing in a crouch as his own spider legs withdrew from his pak in defense.

"What are you doing here?" Zim asked, anxiously eyeing the hole Tak had scorched in the chair where he had been sitting only seconds ago.

"What does it look like?" Tak's voice was coldly impassive, and her eyes glowed with pure hatred as she watched Zim. With startling speed, she suddenly raced toward him, taking a dark purple laser gun from her pak even as she fired lasers from the tips of her spider legs. Zim pulled a laser gun from inside his pak as well, gasping sharply as his arm and side were grazed by Tak's lasers. He agilely dodged around the room and returned the fire, though not nearly as rapidly as Tak. In fact, he seemed to be trying to defend himself rather than actually fight her.

Tak soon noticed this, and it agitated her. Zim was hardly trying to hit her, and she hadn't killed him yet? Why wouldn't he fight? Did he think he was too good to fight her? Tak angrily tightened her grip on the gun and lunged at Zim, more intent on shooting him than ever.

Zim generated a force field around himself with his spider legs, noticing Tak's more forceful attacks on him. Tak concentrated her fire on the shield in an attempt to penetrate it. Under her relentless attack, the shield flickered for an instant, and then a well-aimed laser from Tak hit the tip of one of Zim's spider legs, dispelling the force field.

Tak grinned triumphantly and ran at Zim to end the fight, using her spider legs to significantly increase her speed. Zim fluidly moved out of her way seconds before she reached him, and to her horror, she heard the grating sound of metal slicing through metal as Zim cut through her spider legs with his own. Tak's gun was knocked from her hands by another mechanical extension from Zim's pak, and she tumbled to the floor, her severed spider legs clattering around her. Tak turned over on her back and stared up at Zim, too surprised to say anything for a while.

"You… you beat me… again…" Tak said falteringly, watching Zim with an expression of disbelief. She flinched, realizing that she and Zim were covered with minor injuries, and both Zim's uniform and her own were torn in several places, where the lasers had barely missed them.

"Go ahead, then. Kill me." Tak lowered her antennae, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Or are you going to mock me and rub your victory in my face first?" she asked bitterly.

Zim approached Tak, his expression unreadable in the dim light. Tak pulled herself away from him until her back was against the wall, ashamedly keeping her eyes downcast. Zim most likely intended to kill her now for attacking him so viciously. Even he should know that she would continue trying to destroy him if he did not kill her first.

Instead of shooting her as she had thought he would, Zim kneeled in front of Tak. He gazed at her intently, and she hesitantly raised her eyes again to regard him with confusion. Unexpectedly, Zim embedded his battle-dented spider legs into the wall on either side of Tak.

"Zim…?" Tak glanced uncomfortably from the spider legs to Zim, startled when she saw the calm, gentle look in his eyes rather than fury or anger. Zim cautiously moved nearer to her, and Tak stiffened, her antennae lying flat against the back of her head. Zim leaned even closer on his hands and knees, and then reached up to softly stroke one of Tak's antennae, pressing his mouth against hers.

Tak watched Zim uncertainly as he kissed her. Without thinking, she returned the kiss and slowly began to relax, closing her eyes halfway. As Zim continued to gently move his fingers over her sensitive antenna, Tak perked it slightly, pushing the antenna lightly against his hand.

Zim eventually pulled away from Tak, crouching close to her. He watched her apprehensively, as though he expected her to suddenly resume her attacks.

At first, Zim spoke hesitantly, avoiding Tak's eyes. "Tak…? I…" He paused unsurely, but then a triumphant grin spread across his face. "I have won, Tak! You have been defeated by Zim!"

Tak stared at Zim expressionlessly, and pushed herself unsteadily to her feet. "I am _leaving_," she hissed. "Stay away from me." Tak ran, not checking to see if Zim was following her. She continued to race through Zim's base, until she found herself in the house level.

"Tak, wait!" Zim hurried after her, and she glared at him.

"I said I'm leaving, and I mean it!" Tak shouted vehemently. She turned back to the door, but then froze uncertainly. Rain was starting to fall from the dark sky. She had never gone through it, and she had hoped to keep it that way. Tak took a deep breath, and walked a little farther outside the house. She was unable to suppress a cry of pain as the liquid burned her skin through her holographic disguise. Tak gritted her teeth with determination. This was not going to stop her from returning to the weenie stand. Better to suffer than run back to Zim's base just because of a little rain, as much as it burned.

Tak had gone about a block from Zim's house when she heard quick footsteps behind her. "Tak! Stop!"

Tak turned to see Zim hurrying after her, hastily popping a contact lense into his eye.

"What do you want?" Tak's tone of voice was threatening, and the look she was giving Zim would cause almost anyone to cower in fear.

"Don't you see that it's raining? Come back to my base!"

"I don't care!" Tak snapped. "Go _away_, Zim!" Why was the rain not affecting Zim as badly as her? It was hard enough just to hold back the screams of pain that threatened to escape from inside of her. Tak continued to walk, hoping Zim did not notice how much of an effort it was.

"Tak, stop this! Are you insane? Tak…!"

The rain turned to a torrential downpour, and Tak gasped with pain, falling to the ground on her hands and knees. She curled up on the wet sidewalk and wrapped her arms around herself. Her disguise had faded away as the burning pain worsened, but she was in too much agony to care, the acidic rain searing into the small wounds that she had already received from her fight with Zim.

Zim knelt and pulled Tak into his arms despite her feeble struggling, and immediately carried her back to his base. Once they were inside, Zim dropped Tak onto the couch and stood over her, concerned. Tak flinched, watching Zim distrustfully.

"You should be thanking me." Zim crossed his arms over his chest, squinting an eye at Tak.

"I didn't even want to be here!" Tak spat. "I have no reason to thank you. You would have been better off leaving me out there. I'm only going to keep trying to kill you, you know."

Zim lowered his eyes to the floor. "Yes, I know. Eh… I just don't want you to get hurt… because… I-"

At that moment, the door was thrown open with a bang, revealing GIR swinging two Krazy Taco bags over his head. "I gots TAAACOOOOOS!" GIR squealed, running excitedly around the room without bothering to remove his dog disguise. He popped up on the side of the couch behind Tak's head, leaning over her and grinning in her face. "HI!" he shouted, oblivious to Tak's annoyed frown.

"GIR…" Zim began to scold GIR, but was quickly interrupted.

"These two are for MIMI!" GIR announced proudly, extending one of the bags he was holding to Tak.

"Uh… thanks…" Tak reached for the taco bag, hesitantly taking it and placing it in a compartment inside of her pak.

Zim glared at the SIR unit. "GIR, go do something else! I'm not in the mood for your noisy… loudness."

"OKAY!" GIR shouted, speeding into the kitchen. Zim soon regretted his order, hearing a loud crash from the other room, followed by GIR yelling, "Ooooops!"

"Zim?" Tak sat up from the couch where she had been lying. "How were you able to go into the rain after me without getting burned?"

Zim grinned smugly at Tak's question. "Ah, yes! The paste! It gives my skin better resistance to the Earth water! I've improved it so I can stay in the water for even longer!"

Tak listened disinterestedly as Zim launched into a long explanation of how he had used the paste to protect himself from water, even before she had arrived on Earth. She had not asked for all of the details, just one simple answer! Tak looked out the window, noticing it had stopped raining. Tak sighed with relief and stood, walking to the door.

"Tak, wait! Where are you go-" Zim stopped talking before he finished his question, staring at Tak with wide eyes. "Hey! I'm taller than you!" He began to laugh maniacally at this realization as he looked down at himself, earning a cold stare from Tak. "I thought I was finished growing! Maybe staying on this planet has resulted in an unusual growth spurt? Just wait until the Tallests see… um…" Zim blinked and glanced around the room, lowering his antennae disappointedly when he found that Tak had left. While he was speaking, GIR had returned from the kitchen and was rolling back and forth across the floor as he chewed on one of his tacos.

"Mmmmm… taaacoooooo…"


	5. Confession of Love

Chapter Five: Confession of Love

The next morning was damp and dreary from the previous night's rain as the students made their way to skool, some walking there and others hurrying to catch the bus. Zim was already making his way up the skool steps, not noticing that Dib had just arrived right behind him.

"Hello, Zim!" Dib called to the disguised Irken, watching him with a smirk.

Zim whirled around to face Dib, nearly losing his balance on the slippery stairs. He caught himself, and narrowed his eyes when he saw his enemy. "Dib… what do _you_ want?"

"I haven't seen any of those pigeon things you mentioned in class yesterday! You weren't seriously going to use pigeons in one of your evil plans, were you?"

Zim looked at his feet, muttering something unintelligible about GIR, pizza, and malfunctioning robotic pigeons. His eyes suddenly became round and he tensed as Tak walked near them up the skool steps, her chin tilted up haughtily as usual. Dib glanced from Zim to Tak with a puzzled frown.

"What's with you, Zim? You've been acting weird ever since Tak came back. Well, weirder than you normally act, and that's pretty weird."

"Nothing, Dib-stink! Nothing that concerns you!" Zim spun around dramatically, only to trip on the wet stairs and fall hard on his face. Dib laughed at Zim as he jumped to his feet again and ran to the doors of the skool.

"I'll be the one laughing in the end, Dib! Not you! I am ZIM!" Zim shouted, rushing into the skool. Still chuckling quietly, Dib strolled after him to Ms. Bitters' classroom.

A few minutes later, the students had all gathered in the room and taken their seats. Ms. Bitters soon began her morbid lesson, standing at the blackboard. Zim constantly glanced back at Tak during the teacher's lesson. Ms. Bitters noticed his lack of attention. Tak had noticed Zim's stare as well, and her grip tightened around her pencil as she tried hard to resist the urge to throw it at him, pretending not to realize he was watching her.

"…and that is why, in the end, everyone and everything will hate you. Okay, get out." Ms. Bitters returned to her large desk as the students cheered and raced out of the room. "Except for you, Zim. You're staying behind to clean the board."

Zim turned from the doorway of the classroom and glared at Ms. Bitters indignantly. "What? Why? I listened the whole time!"

"And you kept looking elsewhere during the entire lesson. Now clean it!"

Zim flinched at Ms. Bitters' harsh voice, and then grumpily stalked to the front of the classroom, picking up some of the cleaning supplies from beside the teacher's desk on his way. Zim frowned, cautiously examining a spray bottle that seemed to contain water, or at least something close to it. He sighed and looked back to the dirty board resignedly. Zim reluctantly began to clean the chalk dust from the blackboard, wiping it off with a tattered cloth that was too old and dirty to use.

Outside the skool, Tak trudged through the wet grass, her eyes on the ground. She lifted her head, noticing the familiar place where Zim had proclaimed his false love to her. It seemed so long ago now. Tak approached the ledge and pulled herself onto it, crossing her ankles resting her hands on either side behind her. She leaned back, watching the other frolicking children with mild interest.

"Hey, Tak!" Dib joined Tak, leaping next to her on the ledge.

Tak blinked, giving Dib a small nod to acknowledge him. "Hello, Dib."

"You know, I still want to look at your ship a little more. Could I come by some time?"

"No," Tak said tersely. "Irken technology does not belong in Human hands."

Dib sighed, looking crestfallen at Tak's firmly negative answer. "Oh… alright…"

"Dib, you should know I'm not going to willingly hand you my only way of transportation, and only way of leaving this planet, which I worked so hard on myself. That's why I took it back from you in the first place," Tak reminded Dib, raising an eyebrow at him.

Dib began to answer her, but at that moment Zim ran to the ledge and roughly shoved Dib over it, into the bushes behind them. Dib gave a surprised yell and fell out of sight.

"Hey, Tak!" Zim greeted, eyes round as he smiled at Tak.

Tak groaned and turned her head to look down at Zim. "Oh, not you. Go away. I want to enjoy this break without having to listen to your irritating voice!"

Zim continued as though he had not heard her, but this time, he spoke slowly and hesitantly. "I have thought about it since yesterday, and I have decided that I… I-"

"You _what_, Zim?" Tak watched Zim impatiently, waiting for him to get to the point.

"I love you," Zim blurted, his eyes downcast. "I… I want you to stay with me, like the Humans stay together in their… what do they call it…? Ah, yes, 'marriage' ritual. I don't want you to leave again."

Zim raised his eyes to see Tak staring at him, expressionless, and elaborated. "After I threw you into space, it felt like I was missing something. I continued my brilliant attempts to conquer this planet, trying harder than ever before. I was sure that I just needed to think of another amazing plan to take over Earth, and then the empty feeling would go away. It didn't. But then, you came back!" Zim pointed at Tak, who looked back at him, her expression still blank. "When you were near, this empty feeling left me!"

"So, you're saying you… 'love' me?" Tak asked in disbelief. "You're obviously a defective, Zim! Irkens aren't meant to 'love.' Tak laughed loudly. "You're no different than the Humans you're trying to conquer!" Tak's laughter began to subside when she saw Zim's serious expression as he gazed at her intently.

"I love you, Tak. More than… anything…"

Tak was surprised by the sincerity in Zim's voice. She met his gaze with her own, suddenly feeling uneasy. She had never before seen Zim so solemn.

"Hey! We're going back inside!" one of the students shouted. Dib finally climbed out from behind the ledge, still looking dazed from his fall. "What? Already?" He dizzily walked toward the skool, pushing past Zim as he went.

Tak jumped off the ledge, landing gracefully on her feet. "I need to take over Earth without distractions," she said firmly, frowning at Zim. "I have the feeling your 'love' would get in my way, so I would prefer it if you left me alone. I don't want you to come anywhere near me until I've conquered this planet. Then, I'll probably be given a much more important position in the Irken military by the Tallests. So thankfully, I will not be bothered by you any longer." With that, Tak strode back in the direction of the skool.

Undeterred, Zim ran to catch up with her. "But, Tak! I have something for you!" Zim rummaged in his pak, momentarily pulling out a small, heart-shaped box of Irken candies with the aid of a spider leg. He then handed it to Tak with a flourish, beaming at her proudly. Tak blinked at Zim, and then reluctantly took the small box from him, looking down at it with evident curiosity.

"I'll see you later!" Zim leaned forward and kissed Tak on her cheek before she could react. He grinned at her one last time, and then ran to the skool after Dib.

Tak stared after Zim, her eyes wide with surprise. She unconsciously lifted a hand to where Zim had kissed her, then quickly pulled her hand away, narrowing her eyes. "He _won't_ get in my way," she hissed, gritting her teeth. "I will do what I came here to do." She began to walk again, but stopped, looking down at the small box in her hands once again. She had a brief feeling of panic as she felt a strange and unfamiliar emotion, finding herself unable to erase Zim's face from her mind. Tak shook her head. No, she did not love Zim. After all, he ruined her life. She would never forgive him for that. And if she did love Zim, that would make her… a defective…

"No! No, I'm _not_ a defective! Of course I don't love Zim!" Tak shouted aloud. She glared and turned back to the ledge, drawing back her arm as she began to throw the small box into the bushes. At the last second, she changed her mind and slowly lowered her arm, holding the box in front of her and regarding it with a puzzled frown. She sighed and stored it in her pak, then followed the rest of the students back to the skool, the skirt of her uniform swaying behind her in the wind.


	6. Realization

Chapter 6: Realization

When Ms. Bitters dismissed her students at the end of the day, Tak was one of the first to leave the classroom. She had noticed Zim close behind her as she left. Not wanting to speak with him again, Tak had increased her pace to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, and now she was nearing the weenie stand, thankfully alone. Over the course of the day, Tak had decided on several different methods she could possibly use to conquer Earth, and she had planned to devote that night to testing each of them before going through with the best one.

Tak soon entered her base, slumping against a wall as she deactivated her disguise. "It should be simple to rid this horrible planet of one defective Irken! I should have easily destroyed him by now. I can't concentrate on conquering Earth while he's still alive." Tak gave a long sigh and moved away from the wall, trudging further into her base. She frowned as she thought silently to herself. _"I need to come up with some way to keep him from disrupting my plans. I can't afford another failure like the last one."_ Tak took a seat in front of one of her many computers, spinning the chair around to face the computer screen. She lifted her hands to the control panel and deftly ran her fingers over it, pressing various keys and buttons. As she did this, several options and spinning diagrams appeared on the screen.

A few hours passed, and Zim strode into Tak's base while she was still busily looking over her plans. She had not moved from her computer since she first arrived in her base. Zim gave a friendly wave to MIMI, and she nodded cheerfully to him in reply. He walked further into the base, and then stopped in the room where Tak was. He stood in the doorway for a few moments, quirking an antenna as he watched her. She had still not noticed him. "…Tak?"

Startled, Tak leaped out of her chair and whirled to face Zim. Her shock quickly turned to fury when she saw him standing next to another of her computers, as though he had every right to be there. "Zim! How long have you been here? And more importantly, how did you get past my defenses?"

Zim motioned casually to MIMI, who had silently entered the room behind him. "Oh, your SIR unit let me in. She seemed more than happy to show me the way you had gone."

"Don't be ridiculous! MIMI would never let anyone into my base, especially not _you_!" Tak shoved the chair she had been using out of her way. "MIMI! Get him out of here!" she ordered furiously, glancing to her SIR unit. Tak stared with confusion as MIMI not only disobeyed her command, but also turned away from them and casually left the room. Tak took a calming breath and clenched her hands at her sides. "Zim…" she hissed in a low voice, "I don't know what you're doing in my base, but I want you to leave. Immediately."

Zim blinked slowly at Tak, but made no move to leave. "Leave?" he repeated, looking perplexed. "But I just got here."

That was the last straw for Tak. She promptly stepped forward and grabbed Zim's shoulder and the back of his collar, yanking him roughly with her toward a large, heavy door that led to a street outside of the enormous weenie stand. Zim tripped after her, struggling to at least stay on his feet. Once they came to the door, Tak slammed her fist into a button on the wall, causing the door to slide to the left with a small beeping sound. "Get out of my base!" Tak practically threw Zim into the street. She grimaced and wiped her hands daintily against the skirt of her uniform, as though she had just handled something dirty.

Hitting the ground, Zim bounced several times before he skidded to a stop on his rear. He sat where he was a few feet away from Tak, looking up at her with an inane grin.

Tak placed her hands on her hips, staring back at Zim with a very disapproving frown. "Aren't you leaving yet? I don't want you sitting there all night. And where on Irk is your disguise? You haven't been walking through this city in plain sight of the Humans without it, have you? Of course, I wouldn't put it past you to do a foolish thing like that…"

Tak groaned when she noticed that Zim had not moved from where he had landed. She walked quickly to his side and, taking hold of one of his arms, pulled him to his feet. Once he was standing, she gripped his shoulders, forcing him to turn and face her. "Did you not hear me the first time?" Tak shouted. "Go away!"

At Tak's words, Zim crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest, squinting an eye at her. "No, I'm not leaving... Not unless you come with me, that is."

Tak regarded Zim with an expression of disbelief. "Come with you? You have got to be kidding! I just want you to leave me alone!" Before she could protest further, Zim grabbed Tak's hand, holding it tightly in his own. He walked briskly into the street, forcing Tak to go with him even as she desperately attempted to wrench her hand from his.

"Zim! What are you doing? Let go of me!" Tak glanced hurriedly around the dark street where they were standing, only somewhat relieved to see that it was empty for the time being. "Are you insane? What if a Human sees us?"

Zim only answered Tak's questions with an amused chuckle. He strolled leisurely along the sidewalk, holding her hand firmly. She reluctantly stayed beside him, her discontent evident as she fumed and glared ahead. Zim and Tak continued to stroll for several more blocks, neither of them saying anything to break the long and awkward silence.

Eventually, Zim spoke, receiving an annoyed look from Tak. "Well… as you know, because I am so amazing, Earth will soon be under my control!" At this, Tak snorted. Zim continued, not seeming to have heard her. "Yes… very soon, I will be the ruler of this disgusting planet. Everything on it will be mine! This whole city, too, including your weenie stand!"

Tak shot an irritated glance at Zim. "No, Zim. I don't think so."

"Oh, yes, Tak," Zim's expression suddenly became smug. "Even you will be mine."

Tak opened her mouth to angrily contradict Zim, but he stopped her, pausing at the corner of the sidewalk. "My house isn't too far from here," he announced, motioning ahead of them. He looked to Tak, watching her expectantly. After he had waited a few seconds, he frowned when she wordlessly stared back at him. "Um… do you have anything to say to me?" he asked her with a hopeful smile.

"I hate your voice."

Zim blinked at Tak. She was pointedly avoiding his eyes, staring coldly at the sidewalk between them. Zim's antennae perked up as he had an idea. He casually walked around her, smirking when he noticed her eyeing him distrustfully. "So, Tak… Are you… ticklish?" Grinning deviously, he suddenly flung his arms around Tak's slender middle and started to tickle her relentlessly. Tak gave a surprised cry and fought to get away from Zim, but he showed no signs that he intended to let go of her any time soon. "Stop! Stop it, Zim!" Tak bit her lip, but was unable to hide an involuntary giggle.

"_Very_ ticklish!" Zim observed, his grin widening. Tak flailed as she tried unsuccessfully to push Zim away from her, but soon fell against him, shaking with laughter that she was no longer able to suppress. "Please, that's enough, Zim!" she gasped. "Stop!"

Zim finally did stop, lowering his hands and allowing Tak to catch her breath. When she had regained her composure, Tak looked back to Zim to see the other Irken watching her appraisingly.

"What?" she snapped, scowling at him suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Zim answered, innocently raising his eyes to the dark sky. "You just look so beautiful when you smile. You should do it more often."

Tak hastily turned away from Zim so that he would not see the blush she felt appearing on her cheeks. "Oh. Thank you," she said curtly.

Zim took a step back, in the direction of his base. After a minute, during which neither of them said anything, he hesitantly spoke. "I… guess I'll be going, then." After he had given Tak one last longing stare, he began to slowly stroll down the sidewalk.

Tak hesitantly turned back to Zim. Although he had almost disappeared completely into the shadows, she could still see his outline. As she watched him leave her, she was puzzled to have an unfamiliar feeling that she had completely ignored before that night. It was as though something in her pak was breaking or changing in some way, but it did not feel unpleasant at all.

Tak's eyes became round as she had a sudden realization. She loved Zim. She always had, ever since she met him, even when he had ruined her life on that fateful day 50 years ago. All of the times she had claimed to hate Zim, cursed him, wished he would die a horrible, painful death, she had been concealing her feelings, somehow hiding them even from herself. Without another thought, Tak dashed after Zim, quickly closing the distance between the two of them. She threw her arms around him from behind, nearly knocking him over.

"Eh-? Tak?" Startled, Zim looked over his shoulder at the female Irken. He twisted to face her with some difficulty, since she was hugging him so tightly.

"Zim… I love you..." Tak gazed back into Zim's eyes, not releasing her hold on him. How had she never noticed his eyes before? Now she found herself unable to look away from them.

For a moment Zim looked surprised, but then he smiled, raising his arms to embrace Tak as well. "I love you too, Tak."

Tak rested her head lightly on Zim's shoulder. "Good." She nuzzled his neck, her long antennae softly brushing against his face. She was surprised at how warm he felt, in contrast to the cool night air. Tak sighed contentedly, soon relaxing in Zim's arms.

Taking the loosening of her arms around him to mean Tak wanted him to release her, Zim began to step back, but Tak fisted her hands in the red fabric of his uniform and yanked him back to her somewhat roughly. "Don't let go of me, you idiot," she hissed, closing her eyes as she huddled closer against him.

Zim grinned and wrapped his arms around Tak again, gently resting his head on hers. He could hardly believe that Tak was allowing him to hold her – not allowing, but insisting! After a few long minutes, Tak lifted her head from Zim's shoulder, raising her eyes to meet his. "We should probably go to your base. It's foolish to stay out here, where anyone could see us. We're not even using our disguises."

Zim encircled an arm around Tak's waist, drawing her to his side as he guided her in the direction of his base. "There is absolutely nothing to worry about, Tak!" he assured her in his usual, confident tone. "The Human stink-creatures are too stupid to notice anything. The disguises are just an extra precaution."

Tak rolled her eyes, allowing Zim to steer her across the street. "Of course," she said, not sounding completely convinced.

They halted in front of Zim's house. "We're here." Zim gestured to it with a smile. "You should feel honored to be escorted into the house of Zim by me, Zim!"

Tak slowly stepped away from Zim, looking between him and his base. "You should feel honored I'm _letting_ you take me to your house," she retorted, crossing her arms. Tak stared blankly at Zim when he threw back his head and started to laugh wildly. "Is something funny?" she asked, twitching an antenna with annoyance.

Still laughing, Zim grabbed Tak around her waist and lifted her, spinning in a circle and nearly colliding with one of his lawn gnomes. "I'm just… so happy!" he explained between his loud laughs.

Tak smiled fondly at him. "Yes, so am I. Watch out for the gnome."

"Huh?" Zim crashed into the lawn gnome, knocking it over as he fell onto his back on the lawn beside it, with Tak landing on top of him. Tak and Zim blinked at each other, and then both of them were laughing uncontrollably.


	7. Discovery

Chapter 7: Discovery

* * *

Dib paced restlessly back and forth in the center of his room, his eyes narrowed in deep thought, as they had been for the past hour or so. The room was completely dark, save for the dim, blue-white glow of his laptop's monitor, and the faint light provided through his window from the few outside fixtures of the street. 

"Why hasn't he tried anything yet?" Dib questioned in a mumble, speaking his thoughts aloud as he was prone to doing. "He must be planning something big, to wait so long since his last stupid scheme. But what?" Dib paused when a shadow fell across his room, which somehow managed to further darken it, and then raised his eyes to see Gaz standing in the middle of his doorway in her pink footie pajamas, her shoulders visibly stiffening with suppressed fury.

"Your voice is keeping me awake, Dib," she growled irritably. "Why can't you just sleep like a normal person? We have skool in the morning, remember?"

Dib raised a clenched fist over his head in a pose of determination. "What do you think is more important, Gaz? Skool, or the safety of Earth?"

"Skool," Gaz replied tonelessly, without a moment of deliberation. "Go to sleep."

Dib faced his bed as Gaz shuffled back toward her own room. "Sleep…?" he repeated, as though the word was foreign to him. He frowned. Such an idea was completely out of the question, considering what Zim could be doing to destroy their world at that very moment. "But… Earth…" Dib crossed his room at a slow walk to approach the bed, and reluctantly sank onto the foot of it, still frowning thoughtfully. "Maybe Zim is taking a break," he whispered to himself, his voice low so that he would not disturb his sister, "but when he does do something, I'll be ready." With these words, Dib sprang to his feet with an expression of unyielding defiance. "Do you hear me, Zim? I'm _ready_!" he shouted into the night.

The only answer Dib received was the distant barking of dogs and Gaz's angry yell from the other room. "I told you to shut up, Dib!"

---------------

Her initial feeling of euphoria beginning to fade, Tak found herself wondering for the first time what she had been thinking as Zim tugged her after him through the door of his base. She thought back to the minutes earlier when she had admitted her love to Zim. It seemed foolish to have blurted out such a thing after trying so hard to dissuade Zim from giving her his attention, but at the time, Tak had felt as though she would lose something pricelessly valuable if she allowed that moment to pass. Not one to typically make decisions on a whim, Tak wished fervently that she had discussed her feelings with Zim first, or even confronted them as an obstacle to their service to the Empire, something wrong that needed to be corrected.

Zim looked to Tak with the same adoring, yet proud grin he had given her while they were on his lawn, and Tak's doubtful thoughts instantly vanished. "Zim…" She hated how insufferably cocky he looked, and at the same time loved him for it. "Why are we here?" The single question seemed so simple, in contrast to the countless others she wanted to ask, but could not form into words.

Zim gave Tak a somewhat puzzled smile, facing her once they were a good distance into his house and taking both of her hands in his own. "You… wanted to be with me, yes?" Zim gazed hopefully into Tak's eyes, and Tak felt a twinge of guilt when she met his eyes in turn and saw the barely concealed unease in the magenta depths.

"Well, yes, of course," she replied hurriedly. "I just thought it would be better to stay outside. There are hardly any Humans at this hour, and it seems peaceful enough—"

"Ah! Yes! As you wish, Tak!" Zim so eagerly dragged Tak through his front door again that for a moment Tak wondered if she had unwittingly used her hypnosis on him.

"I'll give you a tour of my entire base later," Zim was happily chattering, "and then maybe I'll let you look upon my ingenious plans. Yes, I think I will!"

Tak walked faster to keep up with Zim's quick stride, smiling faintly at him as she forced herself not to say something mocking or sarcastic in reply. "How… generous of you," she managed.

"Isn't it?" Zim smirked arrogantly, prompting an incredulous stare from Tak, and then encircled an arm around her waist to pull her closer to him.

"And here we are!" he exclaimed within the minute, stopping abruptly beside a gate. "The park!"

By night, the park was tranquil and silent for the most part, its areas lit only by the gleam of the moon. An occasional breeze rustled through the leaves overhead as the two Irkens strolled past the gate. Zim seemed to be familiar with the leaf-strewn path, but Tak openly marveled at their surroundings, gazing up to the branches above them to see the beams of moonlight shining through the leaves.

"It's… nice," Tak stated, glancing to Zim and wondering where exactly their intended destination was among all of the trees.

"Nice? Hah! Don't be fooled. Places like this are near to impossible to find. Earth is dirty and worthless! All the more reason it needs to be conquered and made useful to the Empire." Zim paused when they reached a row of picnic tables and guided Tak to the first one, where he gently pulled her down to sit beside him, and then faced her.

"Anyway… The reason I brought you here, Tak, was I came here alone before, when I just wanted to think about you. GIR doesn't follow me here so it's quieter than inside my base." Zim grinned nervously when he noticed Tak's blank, unreadable stare in response to his words, and continued more hesitantly, "I was hoping you'd come with me now. Won't you… Tak…?"

Zim flinched when Tak suddenly laughed at him, lowering his antennae and feeling much less sure of himself. He began to speak again, fumbling for words, but Tak cut him off.

"Aren't I here already?" she asked as her laughter subsided, taking Zim's hand reassuringly. "Of course I'll come here with you again! It's nice… and I like being with you."

Zim's eyes lit up with renewed confidence when he realized that Tak did not find his request ridiculous as he expected she had. "Heh…! Of course you do!"

Tak released Zim's hands and reached to grip his shoulders, leaning forward until her lips met Zim's. She pulled closer to him as they kissed, and Zim did the same, wrapping his arms around her possessively, his mission and duties as an invader very far from his mind. All that mattered was the two of them were together, alone and uninterrupted. And so, until the early hours of the morning, the two Irkens remained where they were, talking and enjoying each other's company. The night's end seemed to come too soon. Tak was the first to notice the rays of the morning sun.

"We need to go now, Zim," she sighed, jumping to her feet. "Remember that ridiculous disguise of yours."

"It's not ridiculous," Zim argued, getting to his feet as well. He playfully flicked one of Tak's antennae, giving a start when she activated her disguise at the same moment, her appearance wavering and changing.

Laughing at Zim's surprised expression, Tak walked briskly ahead of him, and Zim hurried to catch up with her. Zim popped his lenses into his eyes as they walked the path, light green and orange in the morning light, and Tak assisted him in properly adjusting his wig, ignoring his loud insistence that he could do it himself.

"MIMI must be wondering where I am," Tak remarked as they reached the street. "I expect she will come to me during skool, if she leaves the weenie stand."

Zim nodded in agreement with Tak as he gazed at her, although he was too preoccupied in admiring her cleverly programmed holographic disguise to completely comprehend what she had said.

Tak gave Zim a sidelong glance when they were within sight of the skool. "It would be best for us not to let the Humans know anything has changed between us," she said. "Change, in this instance, would lead to questioning, which would lead to possible discovery."

Zim frowned dubiously, not at all willing to hide his love for Tak, even more so now that he knew Tak returned his feelings. "Yes," he nevertheless agreed with a dismissive shrug. "It is only during skool, anyway." He grinned toothily, and added, "If only then, it will be easy!"

Close behind them, Dib walked beside Gaz, dragging his feet. Though he had tried, he had been unable to sleep until the early hours of the morning.

Gaz spoke without looking at her brother. "You should have gone to sleep, like I told you."

Dib blinked sleepily, managing a small nod in reply. His lack of sleep had left him too tired to argue with her. He blinked again when he noticed Zim and Tak ahead. "Huh? Why would those two be standing together, without fighting?" he muttered, his voice slurred with fatigue.

Gaz walked ahead of Dib, giving no attention to his question, and sat on the steps of the skool to play her Gameslave before class began.

Dib proceeded toward Zim and Tak, who then took notice of him, and separated as though they had not been interacting in the first place. Raising an eyebrow, Dib looked to Zim as Tak walked inside the skool, ignoring his exhaustion for the time being. "Why were you with Tak just now, Zim? Is this part of your next plan to conquer Earth, using the help of your past enemy?"

Zim looked to Dib with obviously faked perplexion. "Eh? Tak?"

"Yes. Tak."

Zim scratched his head under his wig, feigning careful consideration. "Me, Zim? With Tak? I think you are mistaken, Dib-worm. I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Yes, you do!" Impatiently, Dib turned to enter the skool to find Tak and interrogate her instead, but by that time the other students were flooding into the building as well, and he could not find her in the growing crowd. Sulking, his mood no more improved by his two hours or so of sleep, Dib entered Ms. Bitters' room with the rest of his class.

Before halfway through the skoolday, Zim was staring longingly at Tak across the classroom. Dib had noticed, and Tak was pretending not to notice. She lowered her head, narrowing her eyes in frustration, and whipped a piece of paper out of her desk to scrawl a note to Zim in Irken, reminding him of their agreement. She hurled the note at Zim, taking no pains to make sure it was unnoticed, and then slouched in her seat, folding her arms on her desk.

In moments, Zim tossed a reply back to her on the same paper, and she sniffed irritably before opening it and spreading out the paper on her desk. Her eyes widening as she read, Tak stared at the message and blushed deeply, abruptly crumpling the paper again and hastily stuffing it into her desk.

Dib watched Tak over his shoulder, and then glanced to Zim, who was looking ahead to the front of the classroom as though his mind was on nothing but the lesson, and grinning even more smugly than was usual for him. Dib turned his attention back to Tak to give her a questioning look, but she did not raise her eyes from her desk, still seeming to be making an effort to compose herself after reading whatever Zim's note had said. Determining that something strange was going on between them, Dib turned away, deciding that he would watch both of them to find an answer after they were dismissed for lunch.

Later in the cafeteria, Dib sat and waited, hardly remembering to eat his food. Several minutes into the lunchtime, he realized that neither Zim nor Tak had shown up in the cafeteria. He stood quickly, excusing himself to an uncaring Gaz, and rushed from the room. "There's definitely something going on if both of them aren't there," he said aloud, his eyes darting. "They must be together somewhere."

Dib passed through the skool at a quick walk, sick at the thought of the exchanging of crucial information between Zim and Tak that he could be missing. Dib had almost given up on finding them when he entered the playground, and heard their voices from not far away. Silently, he crept toward the corner of the wall of the building to better listen to their conversation.

"You have to make everything painfully obvious, don't you?" Tak was hissing furiously. "I request only one thing of you, and you can't handle it for more than an hour! Irk, Zim, how much is it to ask for you to just _control yourself_? We're going to be discovered before you know it, if you continue this way!"

"Of course not!" answered Zim's unmistakable, bold voice. "I was going to act like you weren't there, but… I changed my mind, yes! You should feel honored to receive my attention!"

There was an icy silence from Tak, and then Zim gingerly tried a new approach. "I can't help myself, Tak. I lose all reason at the sight of your beautiful face." Zim's tone was more pleading, and Dib glanced inquiringly toward the wall's corner, curious as to what they were saying. It did not sound like the invasion planning he had expected.

Tak snorted at Zim. "That's a foolish thing to say. Your excuse is the reason I need to be on my guard constantly now, to keep the Humans from suspecting anything. And, so they continue to remain unknowing, we should go back inside before anyone notices we're not there."

Dib chanced a peek around the corner of the building, and saw Zim's back to him a few feet away. In front of Zim stood Tak, who appeared to be just as angry with Zim as she sounded. Tak's attention was so focused on Zim that she did not notice Dib, even though he was directly behind Zim.

"Inside? To that room full of Humans and their disgusting… painful… _lunch meat_?!" Zim stared at Tak, expectant for her to change her mind, but she still frowned coldly back at him. Zim continued persuasively. "They won't miss us, Tak! We could stay out here until lunch is over, and then go back inside with everyone else."

Zim sighed when Tak exhibited no change in her deep vexation with him, and took her hands to pull her nearer, paying no mind to her fiery protests. Within a second, Zim had turned to back Tak against the wall, and was kissing her with a desperation he had withheld the whole day.

Dib gawked, hardly believing what he was seeing. Shakily, he clutched for the wall. _"But they're enemies!"_ he thought, trying to determine how he had missed any of the signs that led up to the scene before him. _"And… aliens! They want to kill each other! Don't they? What's going on here?"_

Just then, Zim and Tak ended their kiss, and simultaneously saw that Dib had been watching them. Both of them stared at the Human boy for a long moment, round-eyed, and then hastily moved away from each other, their surprise at Dib's intrusion quickly turning to rage.

"If you tell _anyone_ about this, I will _destroy_ you, Dib!" Zim shouted, taking a menacing step in his direction.

At the same time, Tak leaped at Dib and grabbed his shoulders to stare into his eyes. "You saw nothing!" she ordered, her eyes narrowing and flashing blue.

Dib squinted and held up a hand to shield his eyes from the flash, pulling away from Tak before she could try another time. "Stop that!"

Her hypnosis failing to work on Dib just as it had in her first attempt inside the weenie stand, Tak backed away from him. She tried to come up with a solution to make it impossible for him to tell anyone of what he had seen, but could think of nothing that would work.

"You two… like each other?" Dib questioned, looking between Zim and Tak, who were slowly moving beside each other once again.

"You're not going to tell any other Humans about it, if you want to keep your big head in one enormous piece!" Zim snapped warningly. He stared unblinkingly at Dib, and then hesitantly asked, "Are you?"

"Why would I—?" Dib began, but then paused before he finished his question, understanding how important it was to the two Irkens that he kept his silence. He smirked at Zim, and then turned on his heel and started to walk back toward the doors of the skool. "Maybe not," he called over his shoulder. "I'll… consider it."

Dib chuckled as he returned in the direction of the cafeteria, imagining the expression of apprehension on Zim's face after he had heard his indecisive response.

"Well, Zim, it looks like I have the advantage," Dib said quietly. Grinning in triumph, he entered the cafeteria, heading back to his secluded table.

* * *

Reviews make me write more! 


	8. End

Chapter 8: End

* * *

The rest of the week passed with little interference from Dib, much to the mutual relief of Zim and Tak. In fact, the Irkens were not as wary by the week's ending as they had been at the time of Dib's discovery, sensing no immediate threat from the Human. No one else showed any signs of knowing about their change of feelings, and the class seemed as relatively normal as always.

Distracted to an incredible extent by Tak's presence, Zim was far less focused on Dib than he typically had been. Dib, however, was feeling paranoid. The smallest of noises made him jump, a weakness that his sister noticed, and sometimes took advantage of in order to torment him for her own enjoyment. Dib was certain that Zim and Tak would join together to get rid of him before he could give away their secret, and the very thought of it terrified him. With Tak to guide Zim's destructive abilities, he could not bear to imagine what they could do to him, and to the rest of the planet.

Dib wandered back to his home after skool ended, the only student not excited about the arrival of the weekend. It was a struggle for him to keep his eyes fixed straight ahead, and the crackle of fallen leaves drew his anxious glances.

"Hi, Dib!"

Dib screamed and whirled around, tripping over his own feet. "Nooo! I didn't say anything! Leave me alone!"

In front of Dib stood Gretchen, watching him with a hurt and perplexed expression. "But… I just said…"

Embarrassed, Dib forced an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry, I thought you were… someone else," he stammered. "Uh… don't you take the bus home?"

Gretchen's face brightened at Dib's question, and she shook her head. "Not today! I decided to follow you to your house."

Dib's grin faltered slightly and he wondered if he should feel disturbed. "Um… right." He turned away from Gretchen to continue walking, and she strolled at his side, oblivious to his discomfort. Dib became aware of how much longer he would have to walk to reach his house. "So…" he said, glancing to Gretchen. "Not that I have any problems like this, but… what would you do if you were certain two aliens were out to get you and you knew a secret about them that they didn't want anyone else to know and it didn't seem really important except the thought of what they might do because of it really freaks you out? Like I said, just _if_ something like that happened. Not that it would, of course."

Gretchen looked as though she was seriously thinking over Dib's question, but laughed when he was finished. "Huh huh. You're weird, Dib," she said in answer. "I dunno what I'd do. Like, hide, I guess."

Dib asked himself why he had even bothered asking Gretchen's advice. "Oookay." He

frowned in contemplation, concentrating on his own thoughts even as Gretchen stayed at his side and babbled about nothing in particular, under a false impression that Dib was interested in what she had to say.

At last they reached the Membrane household, and Dib stopped at his front door. "It was nice of you to stalk—I mean—_walk with me_ home, Gretchen, but I've got some private stuff to do. So I'll see you at skool?"

Gretchen appeared disappointed by Dib's dismissal, but nodded and waved goodbye to him. As she stood at the doorstep, Dib hastily shut the door, sighing in relief. "That's right. I need to do something," he said to himself in an effort to rebuild his confidence. "This is for Earth! I can take Zim and Tak down, separate or together! For the Human race!"

Gaz, already home before her brother, yelled at him from the couch, where she was watching the television. "Can't you ever be quiet?!"

In too much thought to reply, Dib hurried past her and to his room, intent on forming some idea of how he would combat Zim and Tak. As he opened the files he had collected on Irkens ever since Zim's arrival, he reminded himself that everything he knew depended on him, and there was no room for failure.

--

The next day, Dib felt prepared for anything. He was ready to face his alien enemies, and had made up his mind the previous night that he would fight them to the end, no matter the results. And so, he sat in his desk in Ms. Bitters' room, staring at the clock on the wall, watching every second tick by to the point when he could leave the room, and openly confront Zim. Or Tak. Or the two of them at once.

Ms. Bitters' voice intermittently broke through his thoughts. She was talking about air pollution and how it resulted in the early deaths of anyone and everyone who lived in the city. Dib could hardly stand to sit through the lesson, knowing that two alien invaders were sitting in the same room, likely planning his demise.

"Remember what I said, when Zim first joined the class?" He interrupted the lesson and hurled his pencil to the ground, and then moved in front of his desk, attracting the confused gazes of the other students. "I said he was an alien! And he is! And so is Tak. Now, I can prove it!" Dib glanced for a moment to Zim, grinning at his certain victory.

Zim was gripping the edges of his desk, his eyes growing wider and wider. He had not expected Dib to address the entire class, all his enemies! Once everyone knew, his mission, and his new relationship with Tak, would be ruined. "Lies! It's all liiiies!" he shouted over Dib, standing when Dib walked in front of his desk. The two began to shout in one another's faces, loudly arguing and exchanging insults.

Tak looked between Zim and Dib, not flustered in the least. In fact, she only appeared exceedingly annoyed with them both. "Zim and I love each other," she stated, her calm voice carrying over theirs.

Zim and Dib abruptly went silent, each turning to stare at her in shock. She rolled her eyes, standing as well. "Excuse me, Ms. Bitters. I'm afraid we'll be leaving early today." Some of the class was giggling, and others whispered disgustedly about why Tak would like someone who was and green and who obviously had problems, and more than just physical ones at that. Tak smiled around at the other students, and then took Zim's wrist as she walked by him and Dib. "It seems they'll need more convincing than that, hm, Dib?" she murmured, amused by his dumbfounded expression.

As Tak and Zim left the room, Dib looked helplessly from them to the rest of the class to Ms. Bitters, who was not amused. "…They really are aliens, though."

"Go to the office, Dib. I'm sick of you and your interruptions." Ms. Bitters pointed firmly at the door, grinding her teeth.

Dib started, "But they… never mind." Obediently, he trudged out of the room and down the hallway. As he approached the office door, however, he stopped. "Forget this. I'm leaving!" he exclaimed. "Zim and Tak could be up to something right now! There's no time for skool!" With a sense of purpose, Dib bounded through the skool's front doors, yelling out a dramatic cry of triumph.

On their way toward the weenie stand, Tak was trying to explain to Zim as patiently as she was able what she had said and done in the classroom. "You see, it doesn't mean anything!" Tak insisted, gesturing exasperatedly. "The Humans talk about attraction, and it's normal. Dib really is pathetic, for thinking it would expose us for who we are. I would have expected more from him. And you are a moron for worrying so much about it! I'll admit, I was concerned at first, but it really isn't a big deal."

Zim did not look convinced. "Just wait until they send their Earth armies after us," he said, glancing over his shoulder as though expecting the entire class to be tracking them. "Then I'll need to give up everything I've worked for, and keep them from capturing you! Do you not realize what you have done?!"

Tak narrowed an eye, stopping in front of the weenie stand. "Idiot," she scoffed. "If anything, I'm sure I would find myself busy keeping _you_ out of any danger you would bring on yourself. Come on, let's go inside."

Zim began to argue again, but she shook her head, taking his hand to yank him in after her, and then slammed the door behind them. "I keep finding GIR in my base," she informed him, abruptly changing the subject. "With MIMI. He keeps getting in the way, and I'm worried about my equipment. If you want to stay in one piece, you will keep him from messing up my work."

Zim frowned, removing his disguise. "Can't you handle him yourself? If you're so good at taking care of yourself." He perked his antennae as he removed and stored his wig, giving Tak a faint mocking smile.

Tak deactivated her disguise, glaring back at Zim. "He is not my SIR. I should not even have to bother with him and his stupidity. Especially when I could just as easily dismantle and trash him."

"Well… you shouldn't even be on this planet!"

"Would you rather I left? I could establish a base on another planet nearby and work from there, and there would be no malfunctioning SIR units to bother me! Does that sound better to you, Zim?"

"No! Wait… you wouldn't leave, would you?"

Tak threw back her head and laughed, much to Zim's immense confusion.

"What? What? What did I say? Answer Zim!!"

Tak looked back to Zim, still chuckling. "You tossed me away in the first place, in case you've forgotten! And now you want me to stay? Indecisive, aren't we?"

Zim lowered his antennae. "I said I was sorry!"

Tak shook her head at him, and turned to walk into the main part of her base, followed by Zim, who muttered to himself irritably.

They reached another room, decorated in deep shades of purple, and Tak sat down on a couch next to the wall. "If you continue to argue like that, I will have no choice but to throw you out." Zim sat beside her, and she glanced briefly to him, and then to a computer screen set in the wall. "Dib's worried," she added. "It's been really obvious, the past few days. Should we come up with a plan to give him good reason?"

"The Dib-Human's worry amuses me. So… no. I have a better idea." Leaning into Tak, Zim pulled her into an embrace and kissed her deeply, lowering his antennae, delighted when she responded in kind.

The two of them fell back onto the couch, unaware that Dib was hard at work in his room, feverishly preparing to prevent an evil plot that, unbeknownst to the poor boy, was not even formed, and would not likely be so much as considered for a long while.


	9. Story Update?

**Update! **Crazy, right?

I finished this story literally years ago during down time in high school and hardly remember anything I wrote (not to mention I'm kinda apprehensive to even skim my old work), but I've gotten so many infrequent reviews about continuing that I _am_ considering it. Sooo, that'd entail me marathoning some Zim, getting back into my groove, and coming up with some new ideas.

Who knows, maybe I can get this thing to hit 15 chapters some time~


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